Flying with a young Baby?

[CameraGirl]

Hi Ladies,

I was thinking of flying to Scotland when I was pregnant since my family/friends and more importantly my parents and brother are over there but I started thinking, what if we saved the money (about 2000 dollars) and flew after the baby was born, ofcourse this means getting a passport etc;.

Anyone ever flown with a baby? how old were they? I dont want to cause any unnescesary stress since I am due July baby would probably be about 4 months by christmas, would be nice to spend it with my parents and take their new grandbaby to them.

Any rules? USA to Scotland is a pretty lengthy flight. Help me ladies!

 

[Lady_J]

Im glad you started this thread as im an English lady living in Canada and will be having to do the same thing, i will have to fly home once the baby is ready to so my family can meet the little one. I have heard from a lady who flew alot with her little baby that she used to have a bottle ready so the baby was feeding on take off and also on landing as it helps with relieving the building pressure in their ears during ascension. Then there would be packing all the necessary bits and bobs for the flight like enough nappies with a few extra's incase of delays and stuff etc ... she also said to take some hand sanatizer as planes are really dirty. I think the age of the baby allowed to fly depends on the airline. You can also book the baby a seat and then bring a car seat and have the baby strapped in for the journey if you dont fancy holding the baby for the whole length of the journey. If i remem anything else my friend told me i will come back and add it lol x

 

[bky]

I was thinking about it (American in NZ), but we decided to try and go after the baby is a bit older even if we have to buy it a seat by that point (not sure what the rules are on that exactly), maybe 6-8 months.
I think if you call up the airline they can give you the front seats that have space by the bulkhead and a bassinet for the baby. I don't know any traveling tricks though.

 

[goddess25]

I am heading home in Jan ( I am A scot living in Canada) but LO will be 11 months by then. We are flying with BA if they dont strike and they supply cots for babies if you book the special seats that have cot next to them.

I have heard that its easier the younger the baby as they are not up and into everything. I would say go for it, it will be great being home for CHristmas.

 

[CameraGirl]

Good advice Lady! I was wondering about the altitude change on the babys ears.

I am also worried about the passport, me being a UK citizen with a greencard hopefully that wont be a problem and add too much extra time! I wonder if I can go threw the UK citizen line with my UK passport, US baby passport and Hubbies US passport? would be alot quicker!

 

[Kiwichick17]

My step-sister flew UK to NZ (ie two legs of about 12 hours each) when her baby was about 3 months old with no issues - she was still bf and therefore fed on take-off/landing. I intend to probably do the same although it may be when the baby is closer to 4 months.

In terms of coming to the UK with individuals on different passports I've always found them to be *really* strict about only UK/EU citizens going through one lane and everyone else has to go through the special lanes and fill in the landing cards etc. I've seen them send people to the back of the queue if they've gone in the wrong one too! Although I'd guess that was just border control officers on a bad day. If you all wanted to go in the same lane I'd suggest you all go through the non-EU lane - it might be a bit longer but not always (particularly if flying direct to Scotland, the Edinburgh queue is usually smaller than the UK/EU one).

 

[mordino]

Im glad you started this thread as im an English lady living in Canada and will be having to do the same thing, i will have to fly home once the baby is ready to so my family can meet the little one. I have heard from a lady who flew alot with her little baby that she used to have a bottle ready so the baby was feeding on take off and also on landing as it helps with relieving the building pressure in their ears during ascension. Then there would be packing all the necessary bits and bobs for the flight like enough nappies with a few extra's incase of delays and stuff etc ... she also said to take some hand sanatizer as planes are really dirty. I think the age of the baby allowed to fly depends on the airline. You can also book the baby a seat and then bring a car seat and have the baby strapped in for the journey if you dont fancy holding the baby for the whole length of the journey. If i remem anything else my friend told me i will come back and add it lol x

That is exactly what I did when we flew to NYC with my daughter who was 8 months old at a time. She was a great traveller. We took a night flight back home which helped a ton as she slept throughout the flight - as soon as we took off! A night flight definitely is a good idea for families with small children!

 

[mrsbeanbump]

Hi Ladies,

I was thinking of flying to Scotland when I was pregnant since my family/friends and more importantly my parents and brother are over there but I started thinking, what if we saved the money (about 2000 dollars) and flew after the baby was born, ofcourse this means getting a passport etc;.

Anyone ever flown with a baby? how old were they? I dont want to cause any unnescesary stress since I am due July baby would probably be about 4 months by christmas, would be nice to spend it with my parents and take their new grandbaby to them.

Any rules? USA to Scotland is a pretty lengthy flight. Help me ladies!

I think I'm in the same boat going the opposite way!! lil one will be about 4 months and I plan to go from london to boston to visit family next christmas. I usually fly AA, I know in general though flights are less full during the week like tues/wed and usually I've seen people get allocated extra space when there are empty seats on the plane. I'm not really worried as hubby will be with me and between us we'll manage!

In terms of coming through the UK line in passport control, I've got a UK visa and my husband is British and I've been told by passport control when I'm travelling with hubby I can go in the UK line, but when alone have to use the Non-eu line.

I can't wait for next Christmas (SORRY- I know this ones not gone yet but next christmas will be so much more special with lil one! )

 

[Las78]

With my 1st LO I flew 9hrs when she was 3 months old. It was a very easy trip other than when she threw up all over her clothes and I had forgotten to pack a spare set!!!! Baby clothes in airports are expensive lol.

They do say on take off and landing you should feed baby or give them a dummy, as the sucking helps prevent their ears popping.

We flew again when she was 1 and that was a load more stressful as she was up all night!

 

[nada87]

i've only flown with a 15 mo old and it went fine. she handled everything well and even fell asleep in my arms during the flight home. we were stuck on the runway for hours and she just colored and played quietly the entire time. i think the younger they are the easier it is. they don't realize they are being trapped in a tiny seat and having no fun. the only downside is that we had 2 huge carryons and one and a half of them were toys.

 

[auzelia]

I would suggest having either a bottle ready for take off or landing, or putting the baby on the boob to ease the ear pressure, and if you can try and book with an airline that has special bassinets for newborns.

I flew to germany with airberlin who had this and it was a godsend

Oh and plenty of clothes and fragrances nappy bags for those stinky ones

 

[Cinnamon]

Well I was expecting to go to Canada straight after due date, but it is a bit hard and have to think about it as baby would be 15 days or 1 month old, yikes!!! I know my mum flew with me when I was young but I was about 3 months I think. Still, it's a VERY LONG journey and I don't know if it's a good idea... I read all the tips at the top about feeding, sanitizer towels etc and I think I could cope with that. Maybe baby would sleep all the way through??... What to do, what to do!?!?!

 

[gina8177]

My friend just flew home with her newborn, she was just over a month old. It was only a 5 hour flight but she had no issues. I know she's breastfeeding which removes the issue of dealing with bottles and security.